Amazon Petitioned by MD Gay Teen to End Contributions to Boy Scouts

SEATTLE (AP) - A gay Eagle Scout from Maryland and a Seattle Scoutmaster who was fired for his sexual orientation and their supporters presented a petition Wednesday at Amazon.com headquarters urging the Seattle company to suspend donations to the Boy Scouts of America.

Seventeen-year-old Pascal Tessier of Kensington, Maryland, and 49-year-old Geoff McGrath say donations through the AmazonSmile program should be suspended until the Boy Scouts lifts its ban on gay leaders.

They said they had 125,000 signatures gathered through Change.org in boxes turned over to an Amazon security guard.

Amazon said, "Customers can select from nearly a million legally recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organizations on AmazonSmile. We rely on lists published by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the US Office of Foreign Assets Control to determine if certain organizations are ineligible to participate."